Bonnyrigg Rose travelled to the Dumbarton Football Stadium, a ground with significant importance as the last time the two met there Rose became the first non-league side to defeat a second-tier side in the Scottish Cup.

The Rose made four changes to the team that lost 2-0 to Elgin City a fortnight ago, with Scott and Ross Gray, Alan Horne and Kevin Smith dropping out and Dean Brett, Kerr Young, Keiran McGachie and Conor Doan coming in.

Following a minutes applause for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and lifelong Dumbarton fan Kenny Crichton, the action got underway. The Rose got off to a fast start, with some great play between McGachie and George Hunter down the right hand side. The fast start was ultimately undone, with Dumbarton growing more into the game as the half went on, Declan Byrne going closest as his effort was straight at Mark Weir.

Dumbarton continued to pick away at the Bonnyrigg defence, Finlay Gray, Martin McNiff and Aron Lynas all having efforts on goal. The pressure eventually paid off as Dumbarton were awarded a penalty after Kerr Young was deemed to have handled the ball. Stuart Carswell was the man to take it and he slotted it into the right hand side of the goal to put the Sons ahead.

Frustration began to grow amongst the players on the park, with some controversial refereeing decisions getting the crowd and the players fired up. The constant breaks in play also prevented either team from getting any sort of rhythm in the game. Bonnyrigg started to a show a sense of urgency as the pushed for an equaliser, but they were caught on the counter as Ally Love played a good ball in behind for David Wilson who was denied by Weir with a great one-on-one save. The first half was extremely competitive, with Rose unlucky to be behind.

The second half started a lot slower than the first, with chances proving a rarity for either team in the early stages. One big chance fell to Dumbarton in the 51st minute and in a chance where it looked like Love couldn’t miss, Weir denied him.

Shortly after McGachie received treatment for a knock, and he was replaced by Kevin Smith. Zach Khan and Kieran Hall followed shortly after replacing Bradley Barrett and Callum Connolly as Rose pushed on for a equaliser. Bonnyrigg dominated the possession and controlled the game in the second half, but couldn’t make the most of their dominance. Hall had two great chances following some nice footwork in the box, one of which rolled agonisingly wide of the post whilst the other deflected out for a corner.

The late charge wasn’t enough to secure the points however, with Carswell’s first half penalty proving the difference maker in a tight and competitive top of the table clash. The Rose look to bounce back in their next fixture when they play Stenhousemuir at New Dundas Park on October 1st.